A new way of living…
One that I am not able to wrap my head around.
In my blogs I try so hard to keep things on a positive keel, relating life as it affects my family, friends and I and hopefully leave people feeling that life goes on normally for us.
But today was an exception to this rule. Things happened which I had no control over and it sadly, is becoming the norm for most of us living in South Africa at this time.
I was contacted by one of the owners living in Little Gordon House, which is an annex to the larger block of flats where I reside.
He was most anxious as he had heard loud shouting going on above his unit and on looking out of the door, he saw that water was spraying up into the air on the pavement outside our security fence.
He rushed inside to find his shifting spanner and managed to get to the offending water pipes only to find that they were not leaking, the entire copper meter for the complex, had been removed!
This all happened in the middle of the day while people were walking around – not in the dead of night! Fortunately he was able to stem the flow of water very quickly.
When I got out there to inspect it, I found that the thief had forced the cover off the meter by using an iron rod, which he had simply left on the sidewalk, then with a hacksaw blade, he cut through the 1 inch plastic piping, removed the meter and walked away.
Petros and I got into Bianca and did a quick sweep of the roads around us, hoping to see the culprit, but it was an impossible task. Having no right to ask the people to show us what they had in their bags, it was a useless exercise.
Frikkie, another living here, did the same thing but went in the opposite direction – also with no results.
Municipality Whatsapp group for water problems
Here are the details which Frikkie found for me to report the problem we had experienced. Please make a note of it – for when you need to contact them in a hurry.
Ethekwini Water Report WhatsApp. +27 73 148 344.
Of course with the meter gone and the water turned off outside the property there was no chance of the meter being replaced by the Municipality today. Being a Friday, they never even answered their phone call.
So I managed to call our absolutely amazing plumbers, AJ Plumbers, https://www.facebook.com/AJSmithPlumbers/ who immediately sent a plumber over to connect the two pipes. Had it not been for their prompt assistance, I have no idea when Little Gordon House might have had water running again as the Municipality would not have done anything until next week at least.
Next came the SA Police saga…
One can notify the Water Department via WhatsApp that you have had your meter stolen, but they will not respond without an official SA Police number.
So I got into the car and headed to the SAP to register the theft. It was nice to find that I was the only person looking for help at the time.
This euphoria was short lived though, as I discovered that they were off line, and as such, were unable to assist me. They however did give me their telephone number with the instruction to phone in a while, and come back for the number if they were back on line.
Just before 17:30 I phoned and found that they were indeed back on line, so was happy to return to get the necessary document, which I then forwarded to the Water Department.
That should have been the end of it…
but it certainly wasn’t. I was sitting in my lounge when I heard frantic shouting outside. It was already pitch dark. Someone was running down the road, screaming as he went. I didn’t jump up to see what was happening, but shortly thereafter, a knock sounded at my front door.
There, with a bloody arm, pants torn and holding a navy blue bag and Water Meter, was dear Petros.
On his way back from the shops…
He had come across a man who was busy stealing another water meter in the road leading to our own!
He was so infuriated that he chased the man down the road, using the same iron rod that was left on our pavement as his form of defense against the thief.
Apparently after giving him a few hefty hits, the thief dropped his bag and water meter and high tailed it down Isundu Road and into the bush.
Not sure when Petros took a tumble, but unfortunately he did. He has nasty roasties on his arm, hip and knees. I was able to give him the necessary ointment to use and cotton pads to dress the wounds. I have a feeling that he will be really sore tomorrow.
CCPO…
If you look them up on the web you find that they have the tag line, Preventing crime, creating a safer neighbourhood to live and work in.
And oh my goodness are they making a difference in our town. They work in conjunction with a few of the Security Firms and the SAP, and are instrumental in responding to the public when help is needed in a hurry.
They are however, not well supported financially, by the public, which is a real shame. The monthly fee is negligible and yet people are just not joining – knowing that they will get help anyway!
Well my story tonight ended when CCPO arrived at the gate to collect the stolen meter and bag after I had alerted them to the theft. Sadly they didn’t find the culprit, so he lives to steal again tomorrow!
